All in a day’s work!

I was back to that mundane job of internet surfing-researching and calling people up to remind them of this-and-that all morning last Thursday, albeit with a slightly educational time teaching a group of 5 adult church workers (from the BM congregation) English from 2pm-4pm in the afternoon. At least that initial awkwardness and jitter of having to teach a group of people all older than me, every Thursday afternoon has toned down somewhat, since this was my 3rd lesson with them. But they seemed slightly nervous and pretty quiet today, especially after I tried out an English speaking activity with them for the first time. Imagine the apprehension of having to share your personal experiences or feelings from completing a Bible study course, in a language pretty foreign to you….and worst still to your friends who are all supposed to listen intently and point out any grammatical mistakes you have made during your little ‘speech’. Owmigosh, no wonder most of them stuttered and practically mumbled most of the words! Maybe I was a bit too hard of them, I don’t know. But given my lack of time to undergo an intensive grammar study with them, this activity has hopefully helped them to be attentive of their grammatical mistakes. Thankfully, during the lesson feedback section at the end of each ‘speech’, they were able to accurately pinpoint a few of each other’s mistakes. Not bad! So, I guess I’ve helped them somewhat. A few of them could actually speak pretty good English, but the rest of them needed some help with it. Hopefully in the future, their confidence in the usage of English will soar as they proceed from taking baby steps to making large leaps.

Haha! I finally had a haircut at one of those hair saloons in Sg Maong today! Finally, after 3 months, suffering through that process of long hair-growth! I actually had nearly- shoulder-length hair before this, which wasn’t long enough for me to tie into a bun when I played Ah Ma in the CFC-version of a PCK skit during Parent’s Day (held in Church during Mother’s Day). Had to use fake hair for that. But it was sooo irritating, especially when those strands had this bad habit of getting in my way each time I’m eating a meal. I actually had to wear a hair-band every day during exam week the past semester to tame those stubborn locks, or else the only thing I would be staring at are the black strands of my hair instead of the exam paper in front of me. Phew, its amazing what miracles a few snips and cuts on your hair could do for you! Less hassle, no more hair- frenzy, and less time spent tucking your hair away while eating or reading. The slightly boyish, shorter hairstyle I’m sporting now seems to fit me better too, since the old one was a wee bit untidy.

It’s funny though I when think of it-- this blog’s supposed to be a part poetry site, and yet I’ve not posted any of it yet. I’ve been suffering from a bad case of poet’s block for months. Haven’t quite written any good one lately. It’s a terrible state to be in. So here’s only one I’ve read today—a beautiful, insightful poem written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan shown below, courtesy of Life College (sender of the poem right to our doorsteps) and my Dad (who showed me the poem):

Difference:
It’s not how much you accomplish in life that really counts,
But how much you give to others.
It’s not how high you build your dreams,
But how high your faith can climb.
It’s not how many goals you reach,
But how many lives you touch.
It’s not who you know that matters,
But who you are inside.

Believe in the impossible,
Hold tight to the incredible,
And live each day to its fullest potential,
You can make a difference in your world.

Reminds me once again of the God’s plan in our lives—not that we may keep on achieving and build a empire of fame and fortune just for ourselves, but to reach out and make deep impacts in peoples’ lives. It also reminded me of something a children’s ministry expert from Singapore mentioned a few years back: We ought to live today as if there will be no tomorrow, and put all out energy in doing what we’re supposed to do today —so that we will live each day refreshed and excited to do God’s work. Now, that’s a great thing to put into practice!